According to one legend, the red-brick mausoleum holds the remains of a man who requested that upon his death, he be entombed sitting with his whiskey, a cigar, a stack of poker chips, a royal flush in his hand and two aces up his sleeve.

Waco, TX (PRWEB)November 02, 2011

Skeletal specters. A red-eyed wild man. Devilish witches. Ghost stories abound in almost every town. Texas towns, it seems, are no exception. These are the stories that make up TSTC Publishing’s latest book, Cotton Bales, Goatmen & Witches: Legends from the Heart of Texas. Bradley T. Turner compiled the stories with photographs by Mark Burdine. The book, set for a Nov. 22 release, is part of the Kickstarter project, a new form of online fundraising.

“We wanted to get the word out about our newest book, Cotton Bales, Goatmen & Witches: Legends from the Heart of Texas,” said Publisher Mark Long, “but needed more funding for its production. Kickstarter is one way to do both.”

The project includes a video produced by TSTC student and intern Kristine Davis. Sales Manager Wes Lowe stars in the video, portraying "The Gambler," one of the 70 stories in the beautiful coffee table book. The video takes you to a brick crypt in the First Street Cemetery in Waco, Texas, just off the busy Interstate I-35. According to one legend, the red-brick mausoleum holds the remains of a man who thoroughly loved his poker and whiskey. He requested that upon his death, he be entombed, sitting at a card table with an open bottle of whiskey, a cigar ready to be lit, a stack of poker chips, a royal flush in his hand, and two aces up his sleeve.

The video also includes Turner, who explains how the idea for the book originated, and Long, who explains why funding help is needed.

Contributors to the project will receive a variety of Cotton Bales gift items, based on the amount of the pledge, such as commemorative postcards, calendars, autographed copies of the book and framed metal art of the donor’s choice of photographs from the book. TSTC Marketing & Communications Photographer Mark Burdine took the vivid black and white photographs, using the present-day sites of the region’s old ghost stories. The words and the photos bring to life the whispered stories and forgotten secrets that illuminate the darkest recesses of the Texas psyche from the distant past to the present day.

Kickstarter is intended to help fund creative projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields. All Kickstarter projects must be approved, and participants set their own goals. If a project reaches its goal or goes beyond it, the participant gets to keep all funds minus some funding fees. If the project fails to reach its goal, then nothing is owed.

Established in 2004 as the publishing arm of the Texas State Technical College System, TSTC Publishing offers faculty throughout the country the opportunity to initiate and participate in a variety of book development projects. Of course, in the twenty-first century, a book is no longer “just” a book, so TSTC Publishing projects now include such ancillary products as instructor guides, student workbooks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, e-books and companion websites. In addition to offering editorial help and guidance to faculty, assistance also is available in the areas of materials production, distribution and sales.
Visit TSTC Publishing on the Web at http://publishing.tstc.edu